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Frabjous Couture is all about the joy of discovering and mastering couture: from inspiration and techniques to creating a couture wardrobe.
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Bias-cut Tweed Dress

Tweed is one of the nicest and easiest fabrics to sew, in my opinion. Did you know that the origin of tweed is said to be the Tweed River that flows along the border between England and Scotland? Yet apparently, the name of the fabric is a result of a clerical error when tweel (old name for tweed for its characteristic 2×2 twill weave) was misspelled as tweed. Anyway, it is a perfect wool fabric for beginners. It doesn’t distort easily, reacts very well to steam and heat, easy to sew, easy to cut, easy to hide mistakes, it is reversible, durable, and, and, [...]

Black is Back in Wool Satin

Sorry for the homespun photography. I am working on it! Black is one of my favorite colors. Alexander McQueen’s Dante collection in 1996, and Helmut Lang’s 80′s minimalistic designs in black leather made me yearn for strong black pieces in my wardrobe. With the revival of the 80s and partly 90s styles, minimalistic black clothes have become quintessential this season. alexander-mcqueen-pre-fall-2012 alexander-mcqueen-pre-fall-2012 So, why postpone the urge to create something that sober and strong. Walking in the wool section of the Mood, I found so many different blacks – all very enticing and rich. Yet I was drawn to a beautiful black wool satin. It has some [...]

Frabjous Mood October Paisley

When I entered Mood few weeks ago I knew I wanted to make a tailored skirt. Quick look in tweeds and suitings, and I found a perfect match for the style. But so it happens that I can never just buy fabric without exploring the store, in the quest for those one-of-a-kind designer pieces you probably won’t find anywhere else. I really hoped this time there was nothing that would distruct me from that perfect skirt I conceived in my mind… When one of the Mood employees asked me whether he could help me with anything, I mumbled ‘Er, paisley?’ Why did I [...]

Making of the Godet Skirt

Soaring temperatures and humidity in New York these past days are not particularly stimulating to start working on a fall wardrobe. I must admit, usually, fall pieces lounge on my work table waaay past winter months. So, actually, I am quite happy I had an early kick-start, and here is the latest project, made after a month-long holiday break. With the help of Susan Khalje – founder of the Couture Sewing School, author of Bridal Couture, and contributing editor to Threads magazine – I made a couture version of the Godet Pencil Skirt from the August 2012 issue of burda [...]